I just can’t believe what my eyes witnessed… I mean, even if you hate the story, which I personally don’t (not just because there wasn’t really anything wrong with it, but also because it’s from the cartoon I think and because it’s supposed to be a little lame on purpose), you still HAVE to love every single breathtaking “shot” throughout.

I mean, just looking through Google Images to find a poster for this movie made me stare in awe for a good 10 minutes at each individual picture that came up. There is not a bad color combination or shot composition in this whole freaking movie. The world is so dull! Why can’t we live in Speed Racer land?!

So please watch this, but don’t go in thinking “this will be a fantasticly well-developed plot with amazing acting and top-notch characters.” I mean, you’ll get some golden moments, particularly after a sweet ninja fight, and you’ll get plenty of smooth moves and anime style jumps through mid-air… but you won’t get actors who are taking this thing seriously… it’s camp and cheese and the prettiest freaking things that my eyes have ever taken in. See it in IMAX, then see it again in your local megaplex. You will want to individually thank each of the 50,000 people who worked on the animation and visual effects for this.

Uh… so Iron Man rocked my world, guys, I gotta be honest. I know Iron Man is currently rocking everybody’s world, but I just can’t help joining in. I mean, I was as skeptical as the next person during the second half of that trailer… when he started flying, I had serious doubts. But really, if you are considering NOT seeing this movie, you better hurry up and turn that thought around. I can’t imagine someone being disappointed with this delightful spectacle.

First off, RDJ knows his stuff. He was excellent, as usual, at making you feel sorry for him while simultaneously feeling like he’s kind of a jerk. I guess the opening few minutes start you off thinking, so how’s this guy going to change so I can like him later? And then that whole first half of the movie… so great.

I really am already planning to see this again soon. During the last fight sequence, my first thought was, “now here’s the Transformers action I wanted without all the crappiness that was ever-present in the Transformers film.” And I just want to say, the flying sequences were anything but lame. So I can safely say I was very wrong about the trailer (the second half of it at least). Please see this. Please?

I have never seen a movie that both moved along in near real time and was simultaneously never boring. I was intrigued, entertained, and horrified throughout, watching every event and every agonizingly long shot with anticipation and dread at the same time.

Anamaria Marinca, who played the lead role of Otilia, was so excellent. It was like the movie itself was projecting her feelings onto the audience. The dinner scene and her “search” at the end of the movie in the dark are the two most obvious examples of this. When the phone rang during the dinner scene, I felt myself tense up, wondering what was happening, what she might be missing. It was fantastic. I have to also mention Laura Vasiliu who played Gabita, because she did a wonderful job in her biggest scene in the hotel, and really all throughout as well, although the story focused more on Otilia than on Gabita.

I didn’t know much about the film going in, and I’m really glad I didn’t. It makes the reveal that much creepier and that much more intense. I’ll only say this, as I’m trying not to give ANYTHING away in case someone else out there might not know anything about it, the same as I did, because the experience of finding out is part of the whole experience of the film: when Bebe knocks on the door with the briefcase, that’s when I figured it out. All of a sudden it just clicked, and I was like… ohhhh… wow….

So see it for yourself, but don’t expect a nice little fun movie because you will be severely let down if you do. I can’t really imagine watching parts of this film ever again. I felt physically sick sitting in the theatre while watching it. The drawn out nature of the shots and scenes don’t help in that department. It makes you feel like you are really there and that you are personally dealing with exactly what the characters are dealing with.

Oh, and I’d just like to point out that the last shot was the perfect last shot for this film, leaving a lot of unresolved things in the air, but just cutting out, feeling the huge impact that the events of the day have had on everyone, especially Otilia.

Alright guys, here goes…

I bet I’m going to get some interesting comments on this one. What can I say? Oops?

I’d like to start by saying that Richard Kelly made some nice musical choices, not just because I loved most of the music, but because it fit so nicely into the movie. None of the choices were obvious and they wouldn’t have obviously “fit” in the movie, except the whole movie doesn’t “fit” in the movie, which is amazing. They were inspired musical choices, choices that I would have wished someone had made on an oridinary day… but RK made them. Bravo.

The cast was surprisingly perfect. I felt that the odd combination of characters and casting worked to the movie’s advantage because the whole thing is such a hodge podge of genres. You have the crime element, the political element, and the science fiction element… mixed with a wacky, cheap comedy that was actually quite hilarious at times. Then you have the musical elements. It’s almost like RK was trying to go for a film that covers all genres, and the cast reflects that as he chose people to cast from typically all different genres.

Though it was long, I really was only bored for a few minutes about 1/3 of the way in, just before Lovitz shows up. That scene was among my favorites. The fog mixed with the event in the house, mixed with the cast in those scenes, mixed with the confusion of the set up turned reality really worked for me and made me smile. Oh, not to mention the music. Thanks for including the Pixies in your little adventure, RK.

The overall plot of the film… well, the overall connection from scene to scene at least since there isn’t an “overall plot”… was very well executed in my opinion because it’s chaotic, unpredictable, and wacky all at the same time. The flow of the film really depends on the moment in the film. It changes from time to time, moving forward and into a new completely different segment after each turn of events. The musical sequence with Timberlake was a fun side step, and actually ended up mattering in the plot towards the end which made it more worthwhile than just as an aside for the heck of it.

I thought The Rock was good in this for the first time. I have never found myself using the words “good” and “The Rock” in the same sentence before this. All the acting, even for the small parts, was good. As I said, the excecution and purpose of each character is really what made the casting choices so dead on.

I felt generally content upon the ending of the film and didn’t find myself all that confused. The thing is, with RK’s movies, I always feel this way, like I KNOW the answers but can’t put them into words. Explaining the point of this film to someone would be difficult, but not because I don’t KNOW it. It’s like this vague overall understanding of the elements of the film. Now I get the joy of rewatching parts to get a better grip on the specifics.

It’s basically 3 plots woven into one… maybe 4. I’ll have to wait and find out. It took about 5 or 6 viewings of Donnie Darko for me to come to terms with each detail. Maybe it will be a while before I’m totally there on this one as well even though I feel satisfied with what I know and understand.

Sorry in advance to all the people that I am offending by posting this. Some of you guys really hated this movie. Like I said, oops? I guess I’m one of the rare ones that accidentally loved it.

Hey, this movie was great. I had so much fun watching this. It was easy to watch as well which is just fine indeed. Cusack was really excellent in this movie. I mean, really excellent. Also, despite being cute… well, there’s no “despite”. Cute, sweet… well that pretty much sums up the movie and Cusack’s amazing character who I seriously want to meet in real life.All the acting was very good and the story was surprisingly entertaining even though it wasn’t that new of a concept. There were a few unexpected moments though which I won’t go into. The script was also a lot better than you would expect for a film like this. The ending was cool as well. I really thought it was great the way it all wrapped up.

The famous part from this movie, the part you can see up there in the poster, didn’t play out like I expected it to. That was a neat surprise as well because I just assumed it would play Night at the Roxbury style… I’m not going to say much more in case someone hasn’t seen the movie, but basically, not as much happened as I expected there…

Anyway, I think I’ll buy this movie. Oh, and John mentioned not liking the 80s music… I have to admit a fondness, no, a love for 80s music, especially in movies. It’s so cheesy in a delightful sort of way.P.S. I want that poster… Just look at his pants. He’s a genius!

A wonderfully accurate screen representation of the brilliant start to an amazing series of books, the best books I’ve ever read, and probably the best books I’ll ever read. It’s practically shot for shot and line for line straight from the pages of the first book in the seven book series. The actors, even down to the minor characters, were picked so perfectly. I couldn’t ask for more in an adapted film.

Although the directing, set design, and some of the editing isn’t quite as prime as the future of the series, it gets the job done. It’s more for kids than the other movies, but that doesn’t stop me, a 22 year old, from loving it. The characters in the film/book are 11 here, so what do you expect? As they get older, obviously darker times lie ahead and the sets and direction mimic that feeling and the aging of the characters as they progress through school and through their pending adventures.

If you are one of the few people who hasn’t had a chance to experience this franchise, it’s time you got on board. It really doesn’t matter if you start with the books or the movies. Both mediums are perfectly acceptable and they line up pretty neatly… at least until you get to book four where the thickness of the text becomes a much more overwhelming challenge for the screenwriters to capture in 2 1/2 hours. But, reading the books will help to fill in the gaps as you progress through the series, and if you think this story is for kids, think again. When you reach the seventh book, you’ll be holding your breath and won’t be able to put it down, even if you are 80 years old, as my grandma is proof of : ) Happy reading, fellow HP fans, and see you at the HBP premiere! Can’t. Wait.

There really isn’t anything wrong with this movie. You have Nicolas Cage, the Coens, and a hilarious and twisted plot… not to mention Cage’s AMAZING hair in this movie. If I was a dude, I’m sorry, but I’d have to have that hair.

The characters are pretty much all a little crazy, but that’s okay because it’s Cage’s life, so why wouldn’t he be associated only with other crazy people?

A funny thing about this movie is the fact that it reminded me of Wild at Heart for some reason… watching it again, I realized that it’s probably because of the biker from hell. That guy is great. It’s so cool how he is introduced and the way he comes in like in a grungy fairy tale or some hardcore 80s movie… like Mad Max for instance. It’s a bit of fantasy mixed with a lot of fun, and some insane character motivations.

Spoilers are on the way…

The best scene has to be when Cage tries to rob the convenience store… tries to steal the Huggies. That whole sequence, until his wife picks him up, is gold.

The movie delivers steady laughs, steady complications to the plot, as more and more people become involved with the baby or with trying to steal it, and in the end, it’s a pretty flawless way to wrap everything up. The script is excellent as well, probably one of their best in my opinion. Good one, Coens.

I almost gave this movie a 10/10 so maybe I’ll end up coming back to it and changing it later after I see it again or have more time to think about all the awesomeness that is this movie. I really don’t know where to start. I wasn’t sure what I’d think. I really didn’t care for The New World… but even though that didn’t really sway me initially one way or the other, I didn’t expect it to be so exciting and entertaining the whole way through… I thought it would have it’s slow boring parts. But no, it did not.

I can’t really say enough about the cinematography. Beautiful. Pretty much every single shot. Here’s the other thing. The plot is actually really new and honestly I was really with the characters and loved them and got into their relationship and struggles and adventure. The violence was meaningful and… I want to use a word that’s not as lame as “poetic”, but you get my point here.

I also came to love Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. SS isn’t bad, but I never cared especially one way or another for Martin Sheen. Nevermind. He’s dope.

So yeah, I’m buying this as soon as I get the opportunity. Oh, and one final thought, I practically cried at the end… like, tears were welling up and the screen was getting blurry…

Hooray! Another alien/thriller/horror movie that I love the crap out of! This was a great surprise for me. I didn’t think I wasn’t going to like it… but I had no idea it would be this good. Clearly, The X-Files owes this movie a thing or two for the episode “Ice”.

The slightly slow to really get started thing was present in this film, and as with all the other films that use this technique, it just works. I mean, you get into it a little, but you don’t really get the full gist until halfway through or so.

The concept is just so cool. Now I haven’t seen the original, and I probably should, but it is shocking that this is a remake because it’s just so fantastic, and that usually can’t be said of remakes.

The ice shots were actually really stellar to me, and I love it when someone has to go through the most absurdly insane things to come out on the other side… and when you aren’t quite sure if they are going to make it, even in the end.

The creatures were really neat and new (I guess I can’t say “new” because it’s a remake but you know…) Also, Kurt Russell was so cool. His character was so simultaneously badass and smooth. His hair and clothes come in at the top of the list for me.

Oh, and I just found the word “havoc” in the description of this movie on Yahoo’s movie page… that’s a great word for this film.

Oh crap, I almost forgot. Wilford freaking Brimley is in this movie. Do you know how that makes me feel? Just… I mean, I’m smiling thinking of it. That guy is dope.

One more actor deserves mention and that’s T.K. Carter. Thanks for the good times.

So yeah. I’ll be buying this one for surez.

Oh wow. If you ever want to watch something that just consistently blows your mind with visual awesomeness and editing genius, well, you know… see this.

MG, you’ve done it again. But I never doubted you. Not for one second.

Every glorious minute of this movie was viewing heaven for me. I think I liked it more than anybody else out of the 9-12 person group that I saw this with. I say 9-12 because it was ambiguous as to who exactly made up our group since it was slightly spread across the theatre and was compiled of random friends of friends.

In any rate, I didn’t stop smiling throughout this whole thing. Jack Black was dope. Mos Def was… fantasmic. And the girl… so natural and realistic. I mean, I know people just like her.

People seem to say that the script was a weak point. I disagree. This movie has no weak points. The thing is, you watch Eternal Sunshine to have your mind blown with awesomeness… and to cry… hard. You watch BKR to have your mind blown with awesomeness. Period. It’s all concept mixed in with a slight plot that I actually found to be fairly fascinating. The way it came together really worked for me. And the script fit the characters. Everyone can’t be smart all the time and say profound things left and right. I really wasn’t in this movie for that reason anyway. I was in it for the simple story and incredibly original concept. Which certainly didn’t get old, my friend. I want to watch the full movies now… the full length version of their remakes.

Going to be seeing it again as soon as possible.

So, in conclusion, you rock my world, BKR, you rock my world. Thanks for the memories.

Seriously. I just gave Die Hard a 10/10. I can’t help it. This movie is incredible.

Every year we watch it during the Macarathon. So of course it topped the list this year… but then it came on TV a few weeks back and I said to myself, “of course you are going to watch this.” I sat down, and I enjoyed myself no less than any of the other times before it. I could watch this over and over and really just not get tired of it. Willis is on fire in this. Seriously, he’s at his absolute best. I could watch him shimmy through vents, get so dirty that his white shirt turns dark gray, and sweat profusely through his wife beater all day long. He actually IS John McClane I think. The acting thing is just a coverup.

If you haven’t seen it, you are missing so much it’s not funny. And the fun doesn’t stop here my friend, no. Ready your DVD players for a four-some of entertainment, action thrills, and quality Willis. If they make these movies for eternity I’ll keep buying my tickets, buying the DVDs, and having good time after good time.

Here’s the thing. Everyone seems to think that if you like a Michael Moore movie, you must like Michael Moore. That is not the case. I’m not saying that I like or dislike him. He’s fine, whatever. A little annoying? Sure. But he’s the part of these films that you overlook. Regardless of what you believe or which “side” you are on, you can’t deny some of the things in here. You can’t say that all of the people in these films were fake, that they all made it up, that all of them got paid off to say something. It’s true that MM can fake his way through these and make people cringe and get riled up about things that aren’t real. I won’t deny that. But…

I loved this film. I came out of the theatre near tears. I actually found myself holding back, trying not to cry, several times throughout the movie. There are certain facts that you can’t deny… and it’s kind of devastating to hear. If the world is a depressing place to you already, you will have an opportunity to listen to all your worst fears by watching this film. Well, most of them anyway.

I can’t say much about the acting because it’s hard to say how much was acting and how much was real, but you definitely get a feel for the parts that are and they are really touching. I have always been a little against the way America’s healthcare system works, and this just hammers in thoughts I already had about all of it. When it comes down to an individual who doesn’t have benefits and who makes an average to below average wage, it’s hard to argue that they would be better off living somewhere other than America.

I know there are a million exceptions to this, and each person’s situation is individual to them. That’s all fine. But I’m telling you, being someone in the exact same position financially and economically as some of the people in this film, I know how they feel. No, I haven’t had a serious health issue, but if I did, I’d be in their spot. I’d be the one crying and facing death when I can’t pay for it out of pocket and get denied treatments that MIGHT be able to save my life.

I’m sure MM faked some things and fudged a little on some others, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the film, feeling what it had to say, and being affected by the results of a system that is flawed in almost every way imaginable. See the movie if you can look past the things that people seem to say about MM and if you can focus instead only on the parts of the story that matter to us as individuals living in a country without a National Healthcare System.

I’m not gonna lie. I loved the crap out of this movie. The first half had me really nervous for them while simultaneously getting very invested in the characters. It was tense and suspenseful… and BEAUTIFUL. As it progressed, it did have a few things that weren’t entirely unpredictable, but I enjoyed it all the same. The visuals were unbelievable. And you know what’s great? Well, you better have seen it to read what’s great…

Spoilers!

You never see Earth until the very end. I didn’t realize how much that bothered me until after the movie was over. You can actually feel being trapped inside the ship. It’s like you experience physical discomfort, claustrophobia, just from watching them in there. That made me think what it would be like to be trapped in there for as long as they were. I think I would lose my mind. And that made the ending more believable for me. When you think of that and realize how hard it must be to be in there for years at a time, then you see that crazy character as something that would likely happen. I didn’t mind the very ending at all… in fact, I quite enjoyed it for some reason. And I didn’t mind the blurry camera thing on the crazy killer guy either. John mentioned that he didn’t like that…

Also, John and I had a discussion after watching this about the religious points in it. I really don’t think it is to be interpretted as anti-God or anti-religion. So many movies have a “bad” character who went that way because of religion or because “God told them to”. But in those cases, it’s obvious that they aren’t a normal Christian or Catholic or whatever the case may be. I can easily see how a person with certain tendancies can use religion as a means to get something… or to further a plan or delusion that they might already be prone to… that coupled with the fact that this man hadn’t left space in years… well, I don’t see that as anti-religious, but maybe that’s just me.

Anyway, I’ll definitely buy this DVD. It was a great time. A little sad in places, and overall fantastic to look at. My eyes thanked me and yours will too.

Wow, I really loved this movie. What’s weird is that it was a lot like Lust, Caution… but I really prefer this movie in every way.

The acting was great. The main character, Ellis/Rachel, was really excellent… and she’s hot which doesn’t hurt. I don’t think I’ve seen her in anything else.

The twists in the plot and the complexities of the story and of the whole “black book” and what they were doing to the Jews was really interesting, surprisingly. I didn’t really know anything about this movie at all when I started watching it, but I usually don’t care as much for historical films, but this was an exception to that.

The colors and cinematography stood out to me, even more than they did with Lust, Caution. Ellis’ blonde hair kind of made her stand out from everyone. That was cool. I also found myself intrigued and wanting to keep watching all the way through, but I didn’t feel so much that way all the way through Lust, Caution.

Spoilers coming up!

On the train, when Ellis first meets Muntze, I didn’t really care much about him, and I honestly didn’t see where the movie was going… but once she started to get involved with him, I really started to like him a lot and really didn’t care for the guy in the Resistance who she was… kind of with? Well, Muntze didn’t fail me, and that guy was really good.

I’ll be getting this DVD for sure. I don’t think I’ve ever rated a historical movie this high before.

I don’t know where to start. I guess I’ll start by saying that that poster is in my top ten posters of all time now.

Every single thing about this movie was gold. If I had to pick something to say bad about it, I’d say that I wasn’t 100% sold all the time on the little kid burping, but who cares? It was all spectacular and even saying one negative thing about it is too much really.

The sets, the whole city, looked. amazing. The little girl, Miette, played by Judith Vittet, was so unbelievably fantastic. I could have watched her all day long. This movie could have been four hours long and I wouldn’t have minded.

That’s another aspect of this movie that I want to mention. It was a perfect length… and the big events that took place felt very evenly and realistically spaced out, despite the fact that this film is anything but realistic.

The minor characters are as intriguing and fascinating as all the rest. Everyone is somewhat of a mystery in this film. You get a glimpse of who they are or maybe who they were… but you see most of what is happening through the interactions of the main characters with everyone else around them.

The spoilers are coming!

The dream sequence at the end was awesome, the guy living underwater was great, and I couldn’t have asked for a better lead performance than the one Ron Perlman gave as One. There were so many weird and wonderful ideas in this film. None of them are overdone and they are all coupled with tons of other weird and wonderful ideas. There’s nothing worse than coming up with one weird thing and playing that out until the end of a film… that happens so often in music videos when they think they have one really great idea so they just play that for 3 1/2 minutes and you get sick of it by the end. You definitely don’t have time to get sick of any of the eccentricies this movie offers.

Who wants examples?

The fleas armed with a green juice that is activated by a wind-up music player, twin women who are collectively called “the octopus” and who can taste something the other is eating and smoke something the other is smoking, a minefield in the middle of a lake, a tattoo artist who has the map of the minefield on his bald head, a little boy who eats a lot of sausage and has a dream about tons of Santa Clauses coming down his chimney… I mean, that’s just the beginning of it.

Also, everyone seems so much like a child, even the ones who are “grown up” and that seemed to be a big theme throughout the film. Everyone in the city is a child or childlike… so they are all trapped here in a way even though the “lost” children are really the ones in the tower at the end.

This movie is easily one of my favorite films ever and is now going to take its rightful place in my top ten films of all time.

My opinion? Funnier than Knocked Up. Better than Knocked Up. Michael Cera and Jonah Hill are HILARIOUS together. Well, they ought to be. They are both kickass on their own.

The best things about it? The dialogue is quick, the whole thing takes place during one night but doesn’t get old, the characters separate to provide for a great little subplot with Seth Rogan and Bill Hader, and nearly every line is hilarious, even when it’s not really a joke. Oh, and Michael Cera running down the street is amazing. And I love how he always asks Jonah Hill what he should be doing. On top of all that, it has it’s moments where you could almost cry for the characters… such as the ending. Even though it’s still for the sake of comedy, you get that the characters are going through a big thing even though no one ever says it.

So overall, a movie can’t get much funnier than this. I can’t wait to finally get the 2-disc DVD and watch all the extras. That part of the viewing experience might be the best part when you are dealing with a Judd Apatow movie. I just wish they would put out a 4 hour cut of this. The extra long comedy is finally working, and doing a great job of delivering as many laughs as there are seconds.

Oh heck yes. Saw this bad boy in Asheville yesterday. I knew it would kick my ass with its awesomeness. And it did.

The acting in here was fantastic. Ellen Page is great stuff. I could have done with more Michael Cera, but when he was on screen, he turned it all the way up. Amazing guy, Cera. Jason Bateman had more screen time than expected… which was excellent. He’s such an amazing actor. He really managed to pull off a great combination of cool, funny, amusing, and even depressing. Even creepy in a sense.

The cinematography was actually more impressive than I expected and suited the style extremely well. One of the best shots? Ellen Page is walking down the sidewalk and we see the back of her head… a bunch of boys from the track team run past her on either side of her, coming towards the camera. I really enjoyed that shot.

This film almost creates its own language out of slang and indie speak, which is also my way of pointing out the one thing that I didn’t like about this movie… the only thing: too much indie culture referencing. Any movie that just pops in a bunch of hip band names and movie references has done something kind of gay in my opinion. But… that didn’t subtract enough from my overall viewing experience to take even a half of a point away from the film as a whole.

It was unpredictable at times, especially for another unexpected pregnancy movie, and I have to say, I think I actually enjoyed this movie more than Knocked Up. It was more my style. I related very personally to the people in the film, and the combination of actors and unexpected turns in the road were really fun to watch play out and kept me wondering how it was all going to end.

Can’t wait to get this on DVD.

I have to say, I was not disappointed with Tim Burton’s latest extravaganza. TB is gradually digging himself out of the hole he’s been sinking into for the past few years. Hoorah!

The music was fantastic. The cinematography, costumes, colors, makeup… all fantastic. One of the best visual scenes in this film was when we see into Helena Bonham Carter’s dream while she sings about it… it’s so pastel and bright and full of color against their darkly lined faces, pale skin, and zombie-like clothing… especially Helena Bonham Carter’s. Her red shoes need to be in my closer right now. Even when we see her in colorful dresses, it’s still so beautifully set against her dark eye makeup.

Another excellent scene, probably my second favorite, was the scene in which Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett come up with their twisted plan while in the bakery looking out the windows. Lovely.

It’s so sickening and dirty and horrifying… but managed to be beautiful and soft at the same time. Anything that can actually make you start to feel for someone so horrible has done a good job at… something. Match Point is another good example, though not nearly as grotesque.

Oh, and even the blood was artistic. The happy sounding music played over choreographed throat slashing was not only entertaining, but very effective for the scene. And Alan Rickman singing with Johnny Depp… I enjoyed that very much… not just because they both did a great job with the songs, but there was some excellent acting going on there.

I’ll see this again when I buy it on DVD the day it comes out. If I can find $8.50, I might just happen over to the theatre for another go round before it leaves.

I finally own this movie and have finally rewatched it. I think this might be the most disturbing movie I have seen… well, it’s up there at least.

There are a few things that stick with you… they stuck with me ever since my first viewing of this movie back in high school.

Spoilers…

Here are the things that stuck with me personally:
1. Climbing into a toilet
2. Baby on the ceiling
3. Toxoplasmosis

I have never been so afraid of cats… I watched this movie and then decided that I never needed to go near a cat again. Now I have two cats… but still. Lemme tell you… that’s some freaky messed up stuff right there.

So besides the horrifying visuals and grotesque ideas, the acting is amazing. The characters feel relatively evenly spread out (besides EM of course) so that you get a good sense of who they are. Some of my favorite scenes are the one with Sick Boy and Renton lying on the ground looking through the binoculars and gun, all the scenes with Begbie at Renton’s place in London all the way up until Sick Boy comes to stay there as well and they end up in the apartment for rent when Renton’s boss comes in… they jump out of the cabinet. Fun.

Now, sitting here trying to list scenes, I keep thinking of more that I love, so I’ll stop there… oh, and it has a really cool poster… but the only reason why I didn’t give this movie a 10/10 is because it’s SO gross that I feel like I couldn’t watch it again… even though I have watched it at least twice now…

It’s really more of a 9.5/10 actually…

I wasn’t sure if I was going to give this movie a 9/10 or a 10/10… but then I rewatched it last night and came to the conclusion that I will never get tired of watching this and that there is literally nothing wrong with any of it… so why would I give it a 9/10?

I showed this movie to my mom last night. She doesn’t easily understand complicated or fast moving things most of the time, but she has seen Moulin Rouge a million times because for a while there I never stopped watching it, so she was interested in this when I told her the same writer/director was responsible for both. She actually came to really like Moulin Rouge and at least somewhat understand the artistic way Baz Luhrmann portrays things. My grandma also really likes this one, but she had seen it before…

Spoilers? I don’t yet know what I’m going to say, but if you place your bets on spoilers, I can pretty much tell you that you have a good chance of leaving with some bunse (only if you’ve seen The Office BBC will you understand what I’m doing here, and that’s fine with me because if you don’t understand it and haven’t seen The Office BBC, well… I don’t know, but it’s not going to bode well for you).

So the movie kicks off with a wonderful fast-paced, obviously quickly cut up trailer-ish montage/collage of the film as a whole. It’s so great. Just so great. They actually used that beginning sequence, up until the movie title credit, as a preview. That was a genius move, Baz. Genius.

Then the crazy times really begin. You have a really cool but extremely odd gun fight sequence at a gas station which consists of the boys from each house driving cars that have vanity plates that say either “CAP 005″ or “MON 005″. Hah. Cut from that to a bunch of lovely set up scenes where you learn all of the back history of the characters through Shakespeare’s original dialogue coupled with a few of Baz’s additions and subtractions, guns, Hawaiian shirts, and modern songs thrown here and there. Nothing is there that doesn’t have to be. You have to really be on top of it to understand every little bit, but once you get used to Shakespeare’s language, and especially if you are very familiar with the story, you can follow it easily and it flows from one thing to the next without any unnecessary pauses.

The thing is, this is arguably the most famous story ever written, and I have seen Romeo and Juliet so many times before. It’s always the same. It’s an old story with swords and dialogue straight from Shakespeare. Shakespeare was no doubt a genius, and his words are wonderfully ironic and meaningful, but when you add Baz’s elements of extreme passion and drama, modernized society, and the incredible acting of Leonardo DiCaprio, you have the only version of Romeo and Juliet to ever make me cry and to ever make me really see the story for what it is and understand exactly what Shakespeare really intended all the old fashioned and flowery words to mean. Every word is so perfectly spoken, and I find myself smiling at each new turn because of the powerful way each person delivers each scene. As I’ve said before, it’s extremely ironic and if you catch every piece of it, you can see how each person is effected by each new event in a way that perfectly lines up the tragic ending. It is unstoppable from the moment Romeo decides to attend the ball by saying probably my favorite few lines from the film/play:

Benvolio:
This wind you talk of blows us from ourselves;
Supper is done and we shall come too late.

Romeo:
I fear, too early; for my mind misgives
Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars,
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date
With this night’s revels; and expire the term
Of a despised life, clos’d in my breast,
By some vile forfeit of untimely death;
But he who hath the steerage of my course,
Direct my sail…

Yeah… that’s my favorite part.

So I’ve gone a little silly with my explanations here, but I just wanted to try to get across what I felt about this film and what I think it means… because the story isn’t about Romeo and Juliet or about swords or old times and places, but it’s about hate and love and the consequences of both… which doesn’t have a particular place or time… it exists in every culture, in every time, and in every place.

Uh, whatever, guys. This movie was great. I think John thought so as well… reading his review after this.

The first half was pretty different and interesting… and then when things started to get crazy… I mean, come on. I was laughing my ass off. This movie is hilarious… intentionally, obviously. It’s so perfectly crazy and so are the characters. And oh man, I sure did love the doctor… the one who comes to see them in the hotel/apartment. That guy is fantastic.

So this might be a long one… here goes. There might also be some spoilers, so I’d advise you not to continue reading if you haven’t seen this one.

I had heard only one person mention this movie… and that was Max… who hated this movie… so I didn’t know what I was going to think and went in with no expectations really one way or the other. But man, what a nice surprise.

There’s nothing better to me than a movie that surprises you by not being at all what you thought it would be. First of all, if a movie can successfully pull off taking 45 minutes to get into anything remotely scary (not that this movie was really supposed to be scary) then it has accomplished something worthwhile. Also, when you have such fun scenes as the one when they find the first bug in the sheets and are discussing types of bugs, I’m going to stay interested.

There’s a creepy aspect to it, but it’s also such a nicely put together dark comedy. I felt icky when I saw them cutting away at themselves to remove the bugs, but I also couldn’t help but roll on the floor laughing through a good chunk of this film. The slight drug references in this movie reminded me a little too much of a few people I know who will go unnamed. The way this movie dealt with that aspect was brilliant. The doctor finding the drugs then using them… that was a nice way to subtly get him into the scene as someone who “relates” and “wants to help”. That guy was great. Have I said that already?

From the opening credits, I was at least slightly invested. Opening credits do a lot for me when I’m watching a movie, and the blue-ish tinted shot from high up over the small town with the movie title in small letters superimposed underneath is my definition of a good opening credit.

I wanted to see a fun comedy last night when we rented Bug, but decided to get this one anyway, and I ended up getting my wish anyway with this movie. All of the acting was fantastic. The plot was original, the characters were great, and the script didn’t lack anything in my mind. The cinematography was really cool to look at and the sets made me really wish I could have worked on this film.

My favorite scenes? I already mentioned the bug in the bed scene. Another is the scene with the doctor. Then finally the scene at the end when they are in the foil coated room and Ashley Judd is trying to put everything together and then her ex-husband starts banging on the door and the helicopter noises start, the room starts to shake, and then cut to the outside where her ex-husband is standing there banging on the door, only a slight sound outside of a plane going by in the distance, then cut back inside where the room is falling apart and they are running around with incredibly loud helicopter sounds and lights above them, shaking the room. What a great cut.

Oh, and I can’t mark this review as complete until I talk about this fabulous scene: the main guy, can’t remember his name, is looking at his blood under a microscope when Ashley Judd’s ex-husband uses a credit card to break into the place. That whole scene with the two of them is fantastic but here’s the best part… The ex-husband moves over to look into the microscope and replies by saying “yeah, you’re just jacking off here, aren’t you.” HAHA

Throughout the second half of this movie, I was laughing so hard. Every line was simultaneously great and hilarious. The last scene was a great ending to the film as well. I would recommend this movie to people. They might not like it or get what I like about it… but I’d do it anyway and hope that they could enjoy it as much as I did.

“Touche!”

Heck yeah, Match Point, heck yeah. I really had an amazing time watching this movie. I saw it in theatres when it was first out but I’m just getting around to reviewing it.

It seriously was one of the most suspenseful movies I’ve ever seen… that’s not even the right thing to say. I was nervous through the whole thing… on the edge of my seat literally, almost jumping out of it at times, with no idea what was about to happen.

Spoilers!

I wanted Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (Chris Wilton) to get away and to be caught at the same time. At times I found myself watching him in a tight situation thinking, “Just get out of there! Run for it!” or “No! Go back for that ring! It didn’t make it over the railing!”. At the same time, when James Nesbitt’s character sits up in bed after the ghost scene in Wilton’s kitchen and announces that he just realized in his dreams that Wilton is guilty, I could have clapped.

The ending was perfect. I was so happy with every little detail. All the acting was incredible, the details were lined up in a way that leaves you seriously wondering what the hell is going on, and when you find out what the hell is going on, you are so invested and captured by it that it’s hard to not feel like you are involved somehow while watching it.

Probably my favorite movie by Woody Allen and definitely one of my favorite movies of all time.

I finally got to see this movie in Pennsylvania. It was really good actually. I wasn’t sure what to expect because I had one friend who loved it and another who didn’t care for it that much. But I was definitely more on the love it side.

Ryan Gosling is a really great actor. I didn’t realize it so much until after I saw this movie. He carries the whole movie alone… which isn’t surprising considering the name of his character is in the title of the movie.

The best parts to me were probably the occassional moments where the shot would just hold on him as he acted his face off… I could have almost cried at times.

The concept was extremely original and they somehow managed to pull off a serious (if sometimes quirky) movie that began with a completely bizarre and easily comedic concept. I also really liked how they didn’t get very much into the sexual side of the doll. It was stated and there were a couple moments and slight jokes, but somehow they didn’t rely on the obvious jokes that such a thing would likely produce and instead focused on the serious aspects and problems of the main character.

A lovely time which I will buy… easily rewatchable. Fun times for all.

As much as I hate agreeing with the whole world, there are certain situations where I have no choice… this is one of them. I couldn’t have been happier with this film. Everything was perfect.

First of all, I have never in my life been that scared watching a movie. It seriously battles the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre for scariest movie I have ever seen. I had a lump in my throat and my heart was racing even after leaving the theatre. It certainly didn’t help me calm down that the movie cuts to silent credits. So creepy. Oh, and Javier Bardem, if you ever try to make another movie in which you DON’T play a serial killer, I’m sorry. I’ll be too scared to get into it.

There are really so many things to say about this film…

From here, there will be LOTS OF SPOILERS AHEAD!! Please, DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER if you haven’t seen this movie…

The acting.

The Coens really know how to pick them when it comes to actors. Every single actor, from the tiny roles to the major parts were completely perfect. You manage to understand a lot more about a character than just what’s on the surface from pretty much every actor in the film, period. I really enjoyed the man in the clothing store, and even the border crossing guard was an acting festival.

The cinematography.

Obviously so amazing. Some of the highlights to me were when Brolin’s character returns to the scene of the shooting to give water to the man who was asking for it… he gets chased through the desert by a truck with tons of headlights. The shots of him running with the dawn sky in front of him were spectacular… this scene was also unbelievable suspenseful and scary as crap. You can feel yourself in his position with absolutely no idea how you are going to make it, just running your heart is in your throat. I also loved all of the shots of Anton… just so creepy. There wasn’t a bad shot or bad location in this movie.

The ending.

When Tommy Lee Jones goes back to the crime scene where Brolin’s character was killed, I actually thought, “Oh, sweet! Tommy Lee is going back because in the previous scene, someone mentioned how Anton returns to his crime scenes and I bet TLJ’s got Brolin hiding out at the crime scene and he’s not really dead!”. I was wrong, of course, and as it turned out, I am so glad I was. The last shot of TLJ is fantastic. There was nothing drawn out or silly about that ending. It just happened. No false endings or tying up of loose ends. Just the world sucks, nothing to do about it, things fall apart, TLJ quits, life goes on. It couldn’t have been better. There are other ways they could have ended this movie and none of them would have been okay with me at all… for example…

1. Brolin suceeds in killing Anton or at least winning and/or Brolin gets the money which is not at all the point of the film… if he had won, there really would be no message.

2. Brolin’s wife and their family doesn’t die, just Brolin. That would be too easy and not at all realistic… Anton is obviously not going to just forget about them.

3. TLJ goes after Anton and suceeds in capturing and/or killing him… no thanks. Anton is basically like a demon or death itself. He can’t be caught. If you see him, you will die.

Everything else.

I need to wrap up here so I’ll finish by giving one more example of a flawless scene in my opinion. Carson’s hotel room. Anton follows Carson up to his room and they sit opposite one another and have a discussion. Carson is just on the verge of saying something meaningful when the phone rings, interrupting his words. A pause… Anton shoots Carson. I really love that scene. It’s like you know something important is about to be said, something that Carson needs to say but he doesn’t get the chance. Woody Harrelson, job well done.

And really quick I’d like to mention the scene at the end where Anton waits in the house for Brolin’s wife. I seriously teared up a little, knowing as she did that as soon as she walked into the room, she was already dead.

Well, this is the longest review ever but as you can see, I enjoyed this film : ) I’ll buy it, watch it over and over, and love every fantastic second of it every time.